James Rodríguez ◆ Documentary Photographer

Locals from La Joya sit outside the chapel during the wake of massacre victim Teodora Ramirez. The massacre at La Joya is one of six mass killings that took place in villages within the municipality of Meanguera from Dec. 11-13, 1981, by the US-trained At
Locals from La Joya sit outside the chapel during the wake of massacre victim Teodora Ramirez. The massacre at La Joya is one of six mass killings that took place in villages within the municipality of Meanguera from Dec. 11-13, 1981, by the US-trained Atlacatl Battalion of the Salvadorian Armed Forces, left over 900 civilian victims and are known collectively as the Massacre at El Mozote and surrounding villages. Earlier in 2016, an amnesty law signed after the 1992 Peace Accords that prevented war crimes from being investigated and tried was lifted by El Salvador's Supreme Court, allowing cases like El Mozote to proceed legally against its perpetrators. La Joya, Meanguera, Morazan, El Salvador. December 10, 2016.
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Panorama of the Cerro de la Cruz on the eastern end of the village of El Mozote. The massacre at El Mozote is one of six mass killings that took place in villages within the municipality of Meanguera from Dec. 11-13, 1981, by the US-trained Atlacatl Batta
Panorama of the Cerro de la Cruz on the eastern end of the village of El Mozote.
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A woman wipes her face during the wake for 12 massacre victims at the home of Amadeo Martinez Sánchez. The massacre at La Joya is one of six mass killings that took place in villages within the municipality of Meanguera from Dec. 11-13, 1981, by the US-tr
A woman wipes her face during the wake for 12 massacre victims at the home of Amadeo Martinez Snchez.


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Bullet holes dot a wall from an abandoned home and current exhumation site in the village of El Mozote. The massacre at El Mozote is one of six mass killings that took place in villages within the municipality of Meanguera from Dec. 11-13, 1981, by the US
Bullet holes dot a wall from an abandoned home and current exhumation site in the village of El Mozote.
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Santos Sánchez, 75, stands in a room at his son Amadeo Martinez Sánchez's home during the wake for 12 La Joya massacre victims, most of these direct relatives of both men. The massacre at La Joya is one of six mass killings that took place in villages wit
Santos Sanchez, 75, stands in a room at his son Amadeo Martinez Sanchez's home during the wake for 12 La Joya massacre victims, most of these direct relatives of both men.
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A relative of war victim Vilma Martinez Ramos gets ready to head out to her burial 35 years after her killing. The massacre at La Joya is one of six mass killings that took place in villages within the municipality of Meanguera from Dec. 11-13, 1981, by t

A relative of war victim Vilma Martinez Ramos gets ready to head out to her burial 35 years after her killing.

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Friends and relatives of massacre victims Vilma Martinez Ramos and Petrona Chavarría lift the coffins containing their human remains before heading out to the cemetery for a proper burial 35 years after their killing. The massacre at La Joya is one of six
Friends and relatives of massacre victims Vilma Martinez Ramos and Petrona ChavarrÌa lift the coffins containing their human remains before heading out to the cemetery for a proper burial 35 years after their killing.
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A mass is held at La Joya's chapel for massacre victim Teodora Ramirez. The massacre at La Joya is one of six mass killings that took place in villages within the municipality of Meanguera from Dec. 11-13, 1981, by the US-trained Atlacatl Battalion of the
A mass is held at La Joya's chapel for massacre victim Teodora Ramirez.
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Friends and family pose for a photograph inside La Joya's chapel along with the coffin containing the human remains of massacre victim Teodora Ramirez. From left to right: Victoria Sánchez, 68, Antonia Ramirez (victim's daughter), 60, Elia Ramirez (victim
Friends and family pose for a photograph inside La Joya's chapel along with the coffin containing the human remains of massacre victim Teodora Ramirez. From left to right: Victoria Sanchez, 68, Antonia Ramirez (victim's daughter), 60, Elia Ramirez (victim's daughter), 55, Dionisia Sanchez Ramirez, 59, and Rosario Lopez Sanchez, 70.
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Doris Marquez, 23, rests on a bench during the wake for 12 massacre victims at the home of Amadeo Martinez Sánchez. The massacre at La Joya is one of six mass killings that took place in villages within the municipality of Meanguera from Dec. 11-13, 1981,

Doris Marquez, 23, rests on a bench during the wake for 12 massacre victims at the home of Amadeo Martinez Sanchez.

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Dora Pereira (left), 38, and Vilma Tovar, 39, both from El Mozote, prepare food to sell during the commemorations of the 35th anniversary of the Massacre at El Mozote and surrounding villages. Dora and Vilma are survivors who were both displaced, living i
Dora Pereira (left), 38, and Vilma Tovar, 39, both from El Mozote, prepare food to sell during the commemorations of the 35th anniversary of the Massacre at El Mozote and surrounding villages. Dora and Vilma are survivors who were both displaced, living in Joateca and Honduras, respectively, for numerous years before returning to El Mozote.
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Friends and family exit the home of Amadeo Martinez Sanchez and proceed to a burial site carrying coffins containing the human remains of 19 war victims killed during the La Joya massacre 35 years after the events. The massacre at La Joya is one of six ma

Friends and family exit the home of Amadeo Martinez Sanchez and proceed to a burial site carrying coffins containing the human remains of 19 war victims killed during the La Joya massacre 35 years after the events.

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A family walks towards the center of the village of El Mozote from the Cerro de la Cruz to attend the commemorations on the 35th anniversary of the massacre. The massacre at El Mozote is one of six mass killings that took place in villages within the muni
A family walks towards the center of the village of El Mozote from the Cerro de la Cruz to attend the commemorations on the 35th anniversary of the massacre.
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Friends and relatives of massacre victims Vilma Martinez Ramos and Petrona Chavarría watch as the coffins containing their human remains are loaded into a pickup truck before heading out to the cemetery for a proper burial 35 years after their killing. Th
Friends and relatives of massacre victims Vilma Martinez Ramos and Petrona ChavarrÌa watch as the coffins containing their human remains are loaded into a pickup truck before heading out to the cemetery for a proper burial 35 years after their killing.
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Vilma Yanet Ramos Argueta, 24, carries a coffin containing the human remains of Vilma Martinez Ramos, half-sister who she never met since she was killed during the La Joya massacre at the age of eleven months. The massacre at La Joya is one of six mass ki
Vilma Yanet Ramos Argueta, 24, carries a coffin containing the human remains of Vilma Martinez Ramos, half-sister who she never met since she was killed during the La Joya massacre at the age of eleven months.
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Friends and relatives of massacre victims Vilma Martinez Ramos and Petrona Chavarría place flowers on the coffins containing their human remains as they enter the Jocoaitique cemetery for a proper burial 35 years after their killing. The massacre at La Jo
Friends and relatives of massacre victims Vilma Martinez Ramos and Petrona ChavarrÌa place flowers on the coffins containing their human remains as they enter the Jocoaitique cemetery for a proper burial 35 years after their killing.
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Friends and family rest in hammocks at the home of Amadeo Martinez Sanchez as they wait to bury the human remains of 19 war victims killed during the La Joya massacre 35 years after the events. The massacre at La Joya is one of six mass killings that took
Friends and family rest in hammocks at the home of Amadeo Martinez Sanchez as they wait to bury the human remains of 19 war victims killed during the La Joya massacre 35 years after the events.
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Friends and family line up to bury coffins containing the human remains of 19 war victims killed during the La Joya massacre 35 years after the events. The massacre at La Joya is one of six mass killings that took place in villages within the municipality
Friends and family line up to bury coffins containing the human remains of 19 war victims killed during the La Joya massacre 35 years after the events.
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La Joya Massacre Burial


The massacre at La Joya is one of six mass killings that took place in villages within the municipality of Meanguera from Dec. 11-13, 1981, by the US-trained Atlacatl Battalion of the Salvadorian Armed Forces, left over 900 civilian victims and are known collectively as the Massacre at El Mozote and surrounding villages. 


Earlier in 2016, an amnesty law signed after the 1992 Peace Accords that prevented war crimes from being investigated and tried was lifted by El Salvador's Supreme Court, allowing cases like El Mozote to proceed legally against its perpetrators. 


All photographs taken on the 35th anniversary of the events that coincided with the mass burial of 21 of the victims. Meanguera, El Salvador, December 2016.


Published in the New York Times Lens Page on Feb. 2017.


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